Second Helpings
by Kryteria
Summary: Chuck's reunion with Mother Earth has been cancelled and he's been forced to return to Planet 51 mostly to seek shelter for the time being. How will the locals react to seeing their monster return after only a 2 week absense? Rated T for later chapters.


_Plot Bunnies! Well not really, I just had this itch to write, so out came this! Due in part mostly to the fact that Planet 51 was the last thing I had watched before I obliged myself. Really, it was either this or Battlefield fan fiction. I have the story all planned out so it runs the chance of being quite lengthy depending on its reception and my amount of free time. As for the introduction, it's a nice little adventure. I am, for the most part, just playing around with Chuck's character, getting a feel for him before I throw him into some more dense interaction. I'm a little nervous about not being able to capture the characters correctly; nonetheless I'm giving it my best. Also, I appologize for any mistakes and shifts in tenses that there might be, I can only catch so much. As always, tips and comments will be received with the utmost pride!_

_Anyways, here's the intro. Enjoy!_

It was happening all over again. HQ had patched through a reply to his earlier transmission. Their answer was no. Chuck was going to have to void the set course to Earth, turn the shuttle around and head back. Command had made it abundantly clear it was either follow said orders or be shot on site and neither sounded to be the safer option. This was ridiculous, he had just survived being quarantined by this 'race' and now he was returning for a second helping of torment. He knew this couldn't end well, but he forced himself to relax anyways; it would be a few days before he'd reach Planet 51.

The scariest thought about returning to 51 wasn't about getting dissected alive with very little medication by tiny green monsters, no; it was of not being able to land near the ones he'd already dealt with. There was still the rest of the planet out there and only god knows what kind of trouble he'd land in if his craft happened to sit itself in the wrong territory. There was no way to fly his girl down into the same town he was at before; the coordinates had been removed when he turned her back. Too bad, at least there he would have stood a small chance of survival. Chuck had already met the town's people, they'd already tried to kill him, "—And they did end up letting me go," he mused aloud to no one in particular. Thing is, he wasn't sure how those green monkeys would have reacted to seeing him come right back a week later.

The six days of space travel came and went—fast, and Baker was back, starring down at the Bluish-purple planet he was so happy to have left a week prior. The landing was rough and the terrain that was visible through the shuttles porthole wasn't in any way inviting. The land looked like the so many other uninhabitable places he'd set foot in before. By the looks of it, he had landed on the outskirts of town near the base he was being held at towards the end of his maiden voyage.

"Ah memories, seems like the sour ones are always the first to great you…" Chuck grumbled to him self as he began to cut the power to the engines and throw together a basic survival kit. Considering Charles had just landed on something resembling a barren Arizona desert, he decides it would be a good idea to wear his exploration suit for protection against the presumably sever temperatures jumps—despite it being a beacon to any full-minded alien.

And so, reminiscent of Chuck's first landing on the surprisingly populated planet, the shuttle door pried open with a hiss of air and out stepped a uniformed figure. Only, this time it was dragging its oxygen pack, now hollowed and filled to the brim with dehydrated food and Twix value packs—it was going to be a long walk back to wherever Lem's people lived. Chuck was given only enough foodstuffs to complete his mission, but he could get about another 2-3 weeks worth depending on how he rationed it. Chuck just hoped that he could make it over to the town before then.

The sun was setting on the horizon by the time Chuck was ready to head off. Interestingly, the sunsets here were nothing like the ones back home. There where no red, yellow, or purple hues; there was just a deep cerulean that seemed to seamlessly fade to night sky. Just as Chuck was about to set out on his trek back to town, he froze. "Um…Okay, uh, where am I going, exactly?" Chuck murmured under his breath looking about, bewildered and a little frantic. He had no idea where he had landed the space pod and not that it would have mattered much since he had no idea where the town he had to get to was located on this world either way. Just then, he heard a throaty bark back behind him. Slowly turning around with a baffled look plastered about his face, he peered back at the shuttle—he'd forgotten all about that little guy!

Quickly dropping what he was cradling, Chuck darted back to the capsule, scampering up the steps and to the small upper, side-compartment of the ship. Swiftly climbing the ladder, he popped open the latch to what was once his sleeping quarters. They would have still been his if it weren't for a certain 'companion' he'd picked up before leaving Planet 51.

Peering inside, Chuck could clearly see half of his once functional bed liquefied, sagging against the galvanized-steel flooring. The room was a mess to say the least, but despite the apparent aftermath there was no sign of the alien stowaway. Just then, he felt a light tugging on his pant leg and looked down along the ladder to see the black mutt hanging off his foot.

"Boy, am I glad to see you!" Chuck yelped excitedly to the small dog as he climbed down the suspended stepladder. Settling his features a little, he cleared his throat, "Now, seeing as you trashed my room," affectionately pointing to the ceiling, "There is some due punishment to be dealt, but! I am willing to forgive you if you can help me," Chuck cooed with a look similar to that of a shifty car salesman back on earth. Turning to glance down at the animal he scrunched his nose, "Um, I know you…uh, don't have eyes, but I hope you can at least smell—because if you couldn't that would just be stupid." He scoffed. Straightening up a bit, he continued, "Anyways, I need you to somehow lead us back to your house. Can you do that for me?" he accompanied the last few words with a sidelong glance at the creature.

It was still dark out when Chuck felt the need to stop and rest his aching shoulders. Setting down his pack on a large flattop rock, he tossed a weary look at the pup that was patronizing him with a barrage of barks. "Hold on will you, I need a break," Chuck finally managed to force out. Taking a moment to look towards the horizon—apparently the direction they were headed in, he sighed. It had been more than a day since he'd slept and he could feel sleep beginning to weigh heavy on his eyelids. Chuck knew he needed to stand up and continue walking—stay awake, but his body lobbed onto the rock beneath in protest. Taking one more, anxious look at the alien bloodhound, "I hope you aren't gone when I wake up," he droned. In reply, the dog shot him a lopsided grin. Disturbed by the gesture, Chuck decided he'd better take it for what it's worth and prepared to drift off to sleep.

Morning came earlier than expected and Chuck woke up feeling worse off than before he had attempted to rest up. To his surprise, the mutant dog was lying at his feet motionless. The sight spurred warm feelings to say the least. Sitting up, he rubbed the sleep from his eyes and looked towards the sunrise—they needed to move fast, it was never a good idea to be stranded in a desert during high noon no matter what the planet.

Throwing his numbed legs over the side of the crimson rock, Chuck leaned over to shake his partner awake. The pup sprang to life with a flurry of lashing tongue and high pitched yapping. Immediately Chuck regretted having done so. He swallowed a sigh and waited patiently for the 'thing' to work its way back on course.

As far as Chuck could tell, he and his little buddy had been walking for what looked to be like another day or so since his last bit of slumber and he could feel his mussels straining with the weight of his space suit. Still, it was dark out and as good a time to be hiking back to civilization as ever. It wasn't the thought that was the motivator as much as it was the lights in the distance. They'd reached town, it wasn't Lem's town seeing as this place was smack dab in the middle of nowhere, but it could be a place to freshen up and hopefully hijack a car—flying car…mobile. Whatever.

After a few more hours of dragging their feet and they'd made it to the town's boarder. There was an abandoned fuel station at the mouth of the settlement. The place itself looked to be much smaller than the city from which Lem came, however big that _village_ had been.

_To be continued…R&R_


End file.
